BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued its annual report this past week, sharply criticizing several U.S. allies.The commission lists 11 "countries of particular concern." In Saudi Arabia, it said, religious freedom "does not exist."The chairman of the commission is Michael Cromartie. Michael, welcome.As you study these things and travel around the world, is the state of religious freedom on this planet getting better, or worse?

MICHAEL CROMARTIE (Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom): Well, tragically, Bob, I think it's getting worse. And I think one of the reasons is that there is a religious explosion in the world -- great interest in religion. And Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity is growing around the world; Islam is actually a growing religion. Sometimes these religious traditions are seen by the state as a threat -- because these are people who feel that their God calls them to have a loyalty to their God as opposed to the state. So the state becomes concerned that it can't control its own people. As a result of that, they sometimes torture these people, they persecute them and oppress them. And so with the growth of religion around the world and religious interests, these states seem to be trying to suppress some of them.

ABERNETHY: Is there one country that's worse than any other?

Mr. CROMARTIE: No doubt, Bob, that North Korea is the worst country in all the world -- with human rights abuses, religious persecution -- it's really hell on earth in North Korea. The commission, by the way, put a report out on North Korea, and it's just even hard to read.

ABERNETHY: Yours is an advisory commission that advises the secretary of state, Congress, the president. After you put it out, does anybody do anything about it?